Guest Commentary

“Oh, man, I think we [TNA Wrestling] needs to focus on finding the next big thing to take us over the top, instead of trying to be like them [WWE]. I’ve gone on record many times in saying that we have the best roster of wrestlers of any promotion in the entire world. But we need to be mindful of the resources that we have and the resources that we don’t have. I personally would like to see us make more use of the reality TV style of filming, because that has been a big thing for a long time now. I’ve been joking around for years that if we, the boys, could just take a video camera in a car with us on the road then it would be the top wrestling show today. We need more of that, and we need to find other emerging trends that could help take wrestling to the next level.” — TNA’s Mr. Ken Anderson, responding to Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s and IN THE ROOM’s Brady Hicks’ question at the TNA Sacrifice press conference yesterday about what TNA needs to specifically do to get to the next level and better compete with WWE.

Check back next week for Completely Damaged TV. This week, some Rock/Cena predictions, courtesy of our friends at Slam! Wrestling, at slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/.

For months now, SLAM! Wrestling has been collecting predictions on what will happen in the main event of WrestleMania 28, The Rock taking on John Cena. We asked current WWE stars, past WWE stars, and the current stars of the indy world. Read on to find out what they think!

“I feel it is of dire importance if you want to see the product as well as the fan base continue to grow, people want to see wrestling in their hometown, they wanna go to live events and they want to be part of the experience and forgive me for using the same adjective again but its a very symbiotic experience where the crowd very much powers the performance in the ring and its almost subconscious, when you are out there in front of thousands of screaming fans it amps up your game a little bit, whether you like it or not, it puts you on point, it puts you on focus and makes you want to go out there and put something on fantastically. I think what you saw last week (TV taping from England) was very much evident of that.”–TNA’s Samoa Joe, on the importance of getting out of The Impact Zone

Velvet Sky: I think New England will win the Superbowl because “In Bill we trust!”

Madison Rayne: I think New York will win the Superbowl because I have been a Giants fan for quite a few years now, Superbowl Sunday is my 26th birthday and as always, but ESPECIALLY on my birthday, the Queen gets what she wants. Victor Cruz can’t be stopped this weekend!!!!

Sting: I think the Patriots are going to win it because Tom Brady is going to be on top of his game… he’s built a rep for pulling out all the stops in big games. Although Eli is a roll and the Giants have a great defense, Brady and the Patriots are going to be so confident going into it, it’ll be tough for the Giants to come out winners.

Rosita: I think NEW YORK will win the Super Bowl because we handle BID-NESS! ROUND 2 SAME OUTCOME

Matt Morgan: Well, YET AGAIN, my Dallas Cowboys underperformed this year and didn’t get into the playoffs, so I really don’t have a vested interest in EITHER the Pats NOR G-Men in this year’s Super Bowl. With that being said, I begrudgingly have to predict that the Giants will yet again upset the Patriots because of their Uber-Athletic Defensive line & good secondary. Plus….. I LOVE when Tom Brady gets his A$$ KICKED IN! There ya go…

Abyss: I think the New York Giants will win the Superbowl on Sunday because they have a “Monster” defensive front four that are going to smother Tom Brady all day

Gunner: I’m gonna go with the Giants to win the Super Bowl! My reason, these guys have really come out of no where this year! Beating the packers sums it up

Mickie James: I hope they both lose! I’m a cowboys fan Damnit!!! FTW

Tara: I think New York will win the Super Bowl because I can’t pick a team whose quarterback has prettier hair than I do.

Christy Hemme: Hummmmm… no idea about the teams but I am curious about Madonna at the halftime show :)

Tony Nese: I think New York will win the Super Bowl because the Giants defense will bring nothing but pain on Tom Brady making him uncomfortable, like in ’08, and Brady is no good under pressure. On top of that, the Giants have already played a better defense in San Francisco and showed there resilience. Manning has even more weapons this year and no matter who New England tries to shut down, another receiver will step up and steal the show. LET’S GO GIANTS!

Robbie E: I think the Giants will win because they play in Jersey bro…besides they better win so there will be some sick parties that night. Yea buddy!!!

Gail Kim: I don’t care who wins the Superbowl because I dont care for a bunch of big muscled men wearing spandex! Oh wait…. well anyway, I just care about the party…PARTY TIME!!!

Kazarian: I think the new York giants will win the Super Bowl because they are the hotter team. Their defense is significantly better, and the Patriots didn’t win their championship game, the Ravens lost! This year for once & once only, I love NY!

Angelina Love: I think the New England Patriots will win the SuperBowl this year because I’m sure in all of the players minds they are thinking about retribution for the 2008 Superbowl! They are a great team and had a great year, I’d like to see them take it in 2012!!

SoCal Val: I think the New York Giants will win the Superbowl because like Hagrid in Harry Potter, you’d be a fool to mess with a giant. Trust me. I’ve seen all 8 movies.

Mark Haskins: I don’t care if New England or New York win the Super Bowl because I’m British and we play real sports.

ODB: New York all the way,have you seen their tight ends BAM

Austin Aries: You mean the NFL season is still going on? (Disgruntled Cheesehead)

Earl Hebner: I think the Patriots will win the Super Bowl because they are clearly the better team. I should be wearing the stripes for the game. Everybody knows I know how to make the calls.

I don’t care who you are, competition makes you better. There’s a reason there’s a Lowe’s across the street from every Home Depot and a CVS across the street from every Walgreens. I think we’ve made WWE better, just as they’ve improved us. We’re not just a wrestling company anymore. We do our own booking. We do our own promotion and public relations. We’re a licensing company. We have toys, Halloween costumes, trading cards. We make our own music. All of those things are sold and promoted around the world. But we still do more than 500 hours of television a year.

On Being a Fan:“I just loved the way all those people would come out onto the stage and get in the ring. I loved the way they performed in front a live crowd. I told all my friends that one day I would become a Diva.”

On Competing in The Diva Search:
“I flew to L.A. for three days. I will never forget my experience. I was so nervous; they made me do four auditions before choosing me for the TV show. I remember The Miz being one of the Diva search judges and he asked me to cut a promo on stage in front of everybody. He saw I couldn’t speak the language, and then asked me to cut a promo in French. To this day, they say I had by far the best promo of all the 10,000 girls that tried out and that if I could have cut a promo in English the way I did in French, it would be absolutely amazing.”

On Winning the Title:“I was so happy winning that title. I will never forget that moment I won the belt. As it was a big accomplishment for me. After only six months of competing in the women’s division, I was the champion. I was the first Diva to have won the [Diva’s] championship twice and I hold the longest reign with 216 days, so I’m proud of that.”

On Being a “Bad Girl”:“The persona I played was 100% my creation. I told WWE Creative that I wanted to be a heel. I was always a babyface in developmental, but I’m a great actress. I can make you believe whatever I want you to believe, that’s what I told them when pitching the character, I loved my heel persona.”

On Managing Ted DiBiase:“I liked the idea when they pitched it to me. I’m always open to new ideas; however we’re not in an era of managers. Like 10 years ago, things have changed a lot; we were given little so we tried to do our best with what they give us. You never really know with the WWE. Everything can change, and change the very last minute, I wish they would have given us more. I believe we could have made it to WrestleMania that year.”

On Leaving the Company:“I just want better and bigger and I want to be performing on the big screen, I am working on a big project called House Of Maryse, which will be launching in summer 2012. It will be my clothing and jewelery selection and will be available in more than 500 stores in the U.S. and online at www.houseofmaryse.com. I knew in my heart that I wanted to leave WWE for a long time. I’m a business woman. I need to build and grow and I didn’t have any interest in the WWE anymore. I was like, next! My manager was happy when he heard of my release. He said to me, ‘Now we can start working on the serious stuff.’ I’m ready for a new chapter in my life. I have been with the WWE for six fantastic years, but now I want to do more.”

On Her Wrestling Future:
“I would go back to WWE, for a million dollars and a main event match at Wrestlemania. But, no TNA.”

“In the ring, Brady, it’s a young man’s business. I love being able to get in there occasionally and still perform. We have the greatest fan base in the world, the most rabid fan base in the world. Anytime I can get out in front of them and perform, as long as they still want to see me, I’m excited to do it, but at the same point, I don’t want to be doing it everyday. I enjoy the [TV] role I have right now, with being able to go out on the show, but to be quite frank, I enjoy the behind the scenes just as much. To me, it’s just as thrilling to help a young guy like a Sheamus or a Miz or somebody like that, help them with something and then see them go out there and do it and be successful, see it click for them. It’s just as exhilarating to me as being out there and doing it myself. So that part of it is a thrill for me to be behind the scenes and hopefully watching the business continue to thrive.”–WWE star and COO Triple-H

“This week at Hardcore Justice, an IN THE ROOM – VOC Nation chant broke out. Not even kidding. I immediately went and talked to the girl in the front row who started that chant, to tell her I had met the legendary Ratboy! All I could think about was my encounter with him from the NWA Legends Fanfest this past weekend in Atlanta. I NOW CRAVE CHEESE! Seriously, you guys from that simulcast were all sweethearts, and it was so nice to be able to sit back and chill with you all. And let me go on record saying Ratboy makes for a heck of a date!”–TNA’s own SoCal Val

“Despite never really seeing eye to eye with that fat little midget Brady, I have to give him a nod for allowing me to clear up a few things. I’ve been told that a lot of people are taking pot shots at Jim Ross lately. If @JRsBBQ hadn’t shot from the hip all those years ago, I wouldn’t of had the fire to succeed as much as I did. I wouldn’t of had the strength to sacrifice being with my family, my country, my native tongue to live in Japan for 6 years and learn this craft. I owe Mr. Ross a great gratitude. Not only for setting me on my path to success, but also being there with open arms at the end of my journey and escorting me to the finish line. Many of you may not know this but JR lobbied for my recruitment to WWE. We met at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas and I became fast friends with him and his lovely wife. He had heard the noise I was making in the industry and graciously gave me kudos. You never have to worry about where you stand with JR. He’ll give you constructive criticism when you need it and praise when you’ve earned it. He’s no sycophant and that is something to be celebrated. I’m hoping you all send him a thankful salutation, I know I will.”–WWE star Kharma

“I’ve never been a man for writing articles or blogs, so bear with me. Brady Hicks asked me if I’d be able to write a few words for his site, and I have to admit I jumped at the opportunity. As an avid reader of the “Apter Mags” back in the day – like Brady – I can remember the excitement of opening the pages and reading what my favorite stars had to say. That was then. Today, people ask me all the time if I’m ever going to come back to wrestling. I’ll be honest when I say I don’t think so. Wrestling has given me so many great things in my life, but I’ve moved on. It’s just great to go out to the conventions and different appearances and getting to meet a lot of the people who helped make my career so incredible and unique! I just wanted to say thank you to all of you. Also, I wanted to say my heart goes out to the family and friends of Randy Savage, one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet in wrestling. I watch WWE TV every week, but a guy like “The Macho Man” is somebody you can’t ever really replace. I will miss you my brother.”–“The Doctor of Style” Slick